


Some Women Were Not Meant to be Mothers

by onlyslightlyneurotic (orphan_account)



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Mother-Daughter Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-19
Updated: 2014-02-27
Packaged: 2018-01-13 02:36:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1209610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/onlyslightlyneurotic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who is Felicity Smoak?  Oliver meets Felicity's mother and finds out some of Felicity's backstory.  Based loosely on events up to 2-13.  Olicity may come later in the story.       *** please review, I would love to hear what you think ***</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

They exited the elevator together. Oliver balanced two paper cups of coffee and his briefcase while Felicity had her tablet open to a page that they were both looking at. They walked into the executive offices of Queen Consolidated and stopped in front of Felicity's desk. Oliver dropped his briefcase and set down one of the cups of coffee. He was commenting on a potential business acquisition when he stopped suddenly. At that moment both of them noticed a woman with medium length brown hair sitting in Felicity's chair with her back towards them.

"Can we help you with something?" Oliver asked using his professional voice.

Whoever it was continued to face away from them.

"This area of the building is closed to visitors unless you have an appointment." Oliver took a step closer to the desk chair. Felicity wondered how the woman even obtained access to the 18th floor without a key card.

The chair swivelled around slowly until the woman was eventually facing them. She focused her gaze on Felicity without blinking. 

Felicity took a sharp intake of breath. She closed her eyes briefly. Her heart rate accelerated and she counted down from three in her head to steady herself. Oliver looked at Felicity questionably. He set down the second cup of coffee on the desk and came over to rest his hand lightly on her arm. She leaned into him unconsciously. 

"Mother." The word came out flat. Devoid of the typical emotion you would expect from seeing a family member you haven't seen in some time. Felicity stared at the woman in front of her. A rush of memories flooded her.

Her mother's appearance hadn't changed in their time apart. She was still what people would classify as an attractive woman. Felicity knew Oliver must see the resemblance between them. She was told all her life how much she looked like her mother. They even had a similar style of dressing. If you added glasses and darkened her hair, Felicity knew exactly what she would look like in twenty years.

"Why are you blond?" Her mother moved her gaze to Oliver and tilted her head slightly. "Is it part of the job requirement?" Felicity felt her jaw tense involuntarily. 

Oliver looked back and forth between them. Felicity could tell he was at a loss for what he should do. Propriety seemed to take over. 

"Mrs. Smoak. I'm Oliver Queen. It's a pleasure to meet you." Oliver took a step forward to offer Felicity's mother his hand to shake. He flashed her a smile.

"I know who you are Mr. Queen." She glanced at his extended hand but made no move to take it. "My name is Eileen Gordon. I never kept my ex-husband's last name. I had it changed back to my family name. I encouraged my daughter to do so as well." She shifted her eyes to Felicity, disappointment registering on her face. "She kept it though. Fitting I guess since it was one of the only things he left us with." 

Oliver dropped his hand awkwardly when he realized that Eileen Gordon had no interest in shaking it. He moved back so he was at Felicity's side again.

"It would have been easier to get in touch with you if you had answered any of my telephone calls." Eileen said to her daughter. Felicity remembers seeing her number on the call display. She hadn't worked up the courage to call her back.

"Imagine my surprise when I tried to have security downstairs source out Felicity Smoak from the IT department." She looked at her daughter and Oliver standing shoulder to shoulder. "I was informed that Ms. Smoak was Oliver Queen's personal assistant. I thought for certain they were confusing you with someone else. That was until they offered to bring me up here to wait for you since they could see the obvious family resemblance we have to one another."

Felicity stayed quiet. Oliver watched the silent exchange between mother and daughter.

"I'm staying at the Renaissance." Eileen stood up so she was face to face with her daughter. She reached out to touch a lock of Felicity's hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. "Blond." Felicity couldn't help but turn her face and flinch as her mother raised her arm. Eileen shook her head. "We need to talk. I expect to see you there tonight for dinner at six." She looked at Oliver who was hovering next to Felicity.

"Please join us Mister Queen. I would be interested to hear why you felt it necessary to move my daughter upstairs from the IT department." Eileen gave her daughter an icy stare. "Actually, I'm more interested in my daughter's reason for accepting such a position. Women with valid Mensa membership cards rarely find office administration a rewarding career choice."

Eileen smiled. There was no emotion behind it. "I will see you at six then?"

"Yes." Felicity barely spoke the word. She broke eye contact first.

With one last look at her daughter Eileen Gordon left, passing Diggle on her way into the elevator. The last echo of her heels was the only sound heard in the silence of the room.

"Felicity, that woman looks an awful lot like you..." Diggle trailed off when he came to the realization that Oliver and Felicity were standing fixed in their previous positions.

Felicity shuddered and allowed her posture to slouch. "Oliver you don't need to come tonight." Felicity said. Her arms were shaking lightly. Her mother always seemed to know just how to unsettle her.

Oliver stood in front of her and rested his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, I want to come. It looks as though you could use some support."

She relaxed as he held her. "Some women were not meant to be mothers."


	2. Chapter 2

Felicity glanced in the mirror as she put her second earring in. The earrings were quite long, almost touching the base of her neck. She had just traded her dark rimmed eyeglasses in favor of contact lenses. She wore her hair down, the blond waves cascading past her shoulders. The lighter colored highlights shimmered under the fluorescent lighting of her bathroom. Her mother had always preferred her to wear her hair down. Eileen believed women should look like women and always use their assets to their advantage. Lipstick, earrings, long hair, short skirts – it was all part of the same package. Felicity had spent the majority of the last four years trying to lessen her mother’s influence. However, there were some things so firmly embedded that she didn’t know how to shake them.

There was a knock on her door. She walked across the apartment to let Oliver in, slipping her feet into her high heels as she went. 

Oliver smiled at her through his usual five o’clock shadow as she opened the door. He had traded his business suit for a charcoal colored tailored Armani and he looked equal parts sexy and successful. She felt her heart catch as it often did when she saw him. He swept his eyes up and down Felicity’s profile. “You look very nice Felicity.” 

She gave him a half smile. She met his eyes and offered him a small nod of thanks. Felicity was wearing a short, cream-colored cocktail dress. The dress was low cut in the front and backless. It was very sheer and didn’t leave a lot to the imagination. Exactly the type of dress her mother would approve of. Felicity knew that there was still a small part of her that craved her mother’s approval.

Oliver walked inside Felicity’s apartment leaving the door open behind him. They would have to leave soon. “I called ahead to the restaurant in the Renaissance to make a reservation but I was told your mother had already taken care of it. I’m surprised, I thought we would have more difficulty being that it’s a Friday night.” The restaurant in the Renaissance was a trendy formal dining spot, especially for the local business crowd.

Felicity looked at him in mock surprise. “You didn’t have to use your ‘Queen magic’?” Oliver smiled at Felicity using her hands as quotation marks as she said Queen magic. Felicity wasn’t surprised though. “My mother is nothing if not resourceful.” She couldn’t keep the evidence of disdain from her voice. She could tell Oliver picked up on it. She grabbed her clutch and her jacket.

“Thanks again for coming tonight Oliver. My mother is a … difficult woman. I apologize in advance for what is going to be a trying evening. Like we will both need therapy afterwards kind of a trying evening.”

“I think I’ve put you through some trying evenings myself in these past months. What's a little more therapy?” They both smiled. “As it turns out, I have mother issues myself.” Oliver’s voice hardened. Recent events have also jaded the way he feels towards his mother. He guided Felicity towards the door and followed her out of the apartment. 

********************

 

The maître d' showed them to their table immediately when they arrived at the restaurant. "The other member of your party has already arrived Mr. Queen." A number of people recognized Oliver as they walked across the dining area. He nodded to a few acquaintances as they went by.

Felicity took a deep breath. She felt Oliver's hand move to the small of her back, half of his hand resting gently on her bare skin. They waited at the foot of their table for Eileen to acknowledge them. She finally glanced up from the menu she was reading.

Oliver shifted slightly in posture. His eyes moved back and forth between the two women. Felicity Smoak and Eileen Gordon looked so much alike. There would never be a question about whether or not they came from the same genetic line. Eileen had also changed clothing for the evening. She was wearing what appeared to be a short black designer dress. It fit her so well that it must have been tailored especially for her. She left her long hair loose and she wore it in a similar style as Felicity. She looked young for her age; she could easily pass for Felicity's sister rather than her mother. Other than their ages, the only real difference between the two women was their hair color.

Eileen indicated that they should take their seats. She watched Oliver run his hand along Felicity's back in a familiar gesture as he reached to pull out her chair. He waited until Felicity was seated comfortably before taking the seat beside her. “Ms. Gordon. I hope you haven’t been waiting long”.

“Mr. Queen.” She looked at him with a face that was so similar to Felicity’s.

“Oliver, I insist.” He tried again with a smile.

“Felicity.” Eileen gave her daughter an appraising look. "I'm glad to see you haven't completely lost your fashion sense. I admit I was worried when I saw you this afternoon. You really should have grown out of ponytails years ago." She looked at her daughter's hair more thoroughly. "You are too smart for blond Felicity."

Felicity stared at the napkin on her lap. For as long as she can remember, it was like this with her mother. A compliment intermixed with a thinly veiled insult.

Oliver tensed beside her. The waiter chose this moment to come by to ask them about their drink choices. "Shall we get something?" Oliver asked the women just a little too brightly. 

Eileen spoke first. "I'll have a martini. Dry." Oliver looked over at Felicity. "Red?" he asked. She nodded and he chose a specific bottle with a good vintage. It was the type of bottle that didn’t have a price beside it. The waiter left to fill their orders.

“You let him order for you?” Eileen cocked her head to one side. “What else do you let him do for you?” Felicity brought her fists from her lap to the edge of the table.

“Actually, on second thought, I would rather ask Oliver that question.” She turned to face him. “What exactly does my daughter do for you? She has to be the most overqualified secretary I’ve ever heard of.”

“Felicity brings a unique skill set to her job as my assistant. I couldn’t do my job without her.” Oliver said honestly.

Eileen smiled. “I’m sure my daughter’s skill set is extensive.” She made the sentence sound cheap and tawdry. 

Felicity could see Oliver getting upset. She put a hand on his arm to calm him. She let it rest there as she met her mother's eyes. "Why don't we skip the small talk mom? We were never very good at it. It’s been four years, what did you really come here to see me for?"


	3. Chapter 3

Her mother gave her a level stare. "I need your help Felicity.”

“I can’t even begin to imagine with what.” Felicity said dryly. 

“I need you to come back to Coast City with me. To Gordon Tech.”

Felicity glanced at Oliver. They shared a look. She knew he would recognize the company name. She realized she would have to explain some things to him later on. She looked back at Eileen. “Mother, I haven’t changed my mind. I will not work for you again.” Felicity shook her head slowly as she said it.

Eileen sighed. “I had a feeling you would be difficult. You would only be needed for one specific technical task. Consider it a short-term contract... I would be more than happy to compensate you for your time."

“I don't need your compensation. Even if I wanted to help you, which I don't, I have commitments and a job here to consider.” Felicity knew her nerves were betraying her - she was punctuating her words with hand gestures. She brought her arms back down to rest on the table's edge. Oliver unconsciously moved one of his arms over so that he rested up against her.

“Yes, your commitments.” Eileen turned her gaze to Oliver. “Are we talking about your secretarial day job obligations to Oliver or are we talking about your evening commitments to the Arrow? I guess they would be one in the same wouldn’t they?”

Silence settled over the table. The waiter returned with their drinks. Eileen said nothing as she took a small sip from her martini. Oliver tasted and curtly accepted the wine that was poured for him and Felicity. His jaw was clenched the entire time. Felicity was worried that he would shatter the stemware he was holding. Her heart was racing. Once again her mother had surprised her. The waiter looked awkwardly at his silent dinner guests and made his excuses to leave with a promise to return later for their food orders.

“Oh don’t look so surprised Felicity. I've known you've been helping the Arrow for some time now. You're good at covering up your electronic fingerprints but don’t forget who originally taught you the tricks of the trade." Felicity stiffened.

Eileen continued, "I'll be the first one to admit that your skills now far exceed mine. It was just happenstance that I was working online late one evening when you accessed the GT mainframe. You were in and out quickly but I was able to see you for a brief moment before you covered your tracks. Piecing together what you were searching for with your local news on the vigilante at the time I knew you had to be helping him. Tying the Arrow to Oliver Queen was the next logical step. Everything else just seemed to add up." Eileen shifted her gaze between Oliver and Felicity. "Plus the fact that I don't hear any rampant denial on either of your parts just confirms it."

Eileen regarded Oliver and calmly took another sip of her drink. Oliver's face was impassive as he stared back at her. “I know my daughter Mr. Queen. I know that it would take something extreme for Felicity to agree to help me." Eileen paused to smile at Oliver. A real smile, one that looked so much like her daughter's. "You are the extreme."

Her smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "That being said, I had to see for myself what my daughter’s relationship with you was. I had to know whether or not you cared enough for her that you wouldn’t put an arrow through me once you realized I knew your secret.”

"How do you know he won't mother? I'm sure Oliver can see that there is no love lost between you and I." Felicity shot back at her.

"We both know that is not going to happen." Eileen looked at Felicity with confidence. Mother and daughter stared at one another.

"So where exactly do we stand Ms. Gordon?" Oliver spoke with a hardened expression.

"Right where we stood when we started this discussion." She looked at her daughter. "I need your help Felicity. All I am asking is that you return briefly to Coast City with me. Oliver's secret can stay hidden and everything else can remain exactly the way it was."

"And if she refuses?" Oliver growled, his voice full of tension.

"I don't believe I need to spell it out. Besides, I see the way she looks at you Oliver. She may not care much for me but she obviously cares for you. She won't refuse. It's not in either of your best interests. You can ask my daughter, I don't make idle threats."

"Neither do I." Oliver countered.

Eileen and Oliver took measure of one another. Eileen stood up and looked down at her daughter. "I'll give you some time to consider my request. I'll be in touch with you in the morning. I've taken care of the bill, please feel free to stay and enjoy your dinner." Oliver stood up as Eileen started to walk away from the table.

Oliver remained standing as Eileen left the dining room. She turned more than a few heads as she went by.

Felicity took a large drink from her wine glass as Oliver sat back down. "I don't know how I can even begin to apologize for my mother."

"Felicity, your mother...” Oliver trailed off. "You two look so similar but you are nothing alike."

"I think that's the nicest thing anyone's said to me all day." Felicity took another drink of wine and stared thoughtfully at her glass. "Maybe even ever." She met Oliver's eyes and smiled.

A hint of a smile formed along the edges of his mouth. 

Felicity finished the rest the wine in her glass. She put on hand around the neck of the wine bottle. "Do you think we can take this to go? I'm not feeling very hungry anymore and I think I owe you some explanations."

Oliver took the wine bottle from Felicity. "I'm pretty sure no one will stop us." He stood up and escorted her from the table.

***********************

They wound up walking into Verdant together shortly afterwards. Felicity was hoping to commandeer some wine glasses before heading down to the foundry. Talking about her past would require alcohol.

"Wow, you look smokin' Smoak!" Roy was behind the bar managing the wait staff during Verdant's peak time. Felicity smiled at the youngest member of Team Arrow. He whistled appreciatively at Felicity. One sharp look from Oliver silenced him.

"What's up boss?" Roy moved with them to the edge of the bar where they wouldn't be overheard.

"We're just heading downstairs. Anything we should know?"

"Nope, things are pretty quiet actually. Dig left awhile ago."

"Good. Could we grab a couple of wine glasses from you?"

Roy glanced at the open bottle of wine in Oliver's hand. He looked as though he wanted to ask more questions. He must have thought better of it. He passed Oliver a couple of glasses and an additional bottle of wine. Oliver nodded his thanks. "We'll be downstairs."

***********************

Felicity sat in her usual chair swirling the wine around in her glass. She looked at Oliver. "I don't know where to start."

"Why don't you start at the beginning?” Oliver sat down across from her.

Felicity nodded and took a deep breath. "You already know my dad left us when I was quite young. I barely remember the time before he left. I know that I was happy though. I remember breakfasts together and family trips to the park." Felicity paused and took a drink. "My mom was happy then too." Oliver nodded, encouraging her to continue.

"We had to leave Gotham after my father left. I don't really know the reasons why but I remember my mom stressing how important it was that we go. We ended up in Coast City. I think my father must have left us some money. My mom used it to start a technical firm, isolating herself from everything and everyone we had once known. She focused all her energy on getting Gordon Tech off the ground."

Felicity shook her head. "Eileen Gordon has always had a brilliant technical mind. She poured all her grief at my father leaving into building an empire. There wasn't much an eight-year-old girl could do to entice her attention. For the first time in my life I felt as though I was truly alone. Unfortunately, it was a feeling I would soon get used to."

Felicity stopped talking. She was lost in her thoughts. Memories that she had long since buried were resurfacing. She held out her wine glass to Oliver for a refill. "I was about ten when my mom realized I was... different. My schoolteachers called her in for a discussion about my educational needs. There was concern that they weren't doing enough to challenge me academically. They wanted to move me ahead a couple of grades. In a rare showing of maternal attention, my mother agreed with them. I don't think she considered the social ramifications of putting a shy ten year old girl into a class full of thirteen year olds." Felicity stopped talking. She shuddered slightly.

"My mom didn't know what to do with me. She started bringing me to Gordon Tech with her on evenings and weekends. Having unlimited access to computers and technology opened a whole new world for me. I finally found a language that I could express myself with confidently. Years passed by like this. I spent the majority of them by myself in a computer lab. My mother wasn't interested and it wasn't like I had very many friends at school."

She paused. She could see Oliver trying to reign in his emotions. "Hey, it's alright. I've had a lot of time to come to terms with the shortcomings of my childhood." She leaned forward put her hand on his knee in front of her to reassure him that she was really was fine. 

"You have to understand, to most people I was always that young geeky girl with glasses who didn't quite fit in." She stopped to smile at Oliver. "I'm still kind of that girl."

"You fit in fine here Felicity." His voice was soft. He ran his eyes slowly down her body. "I don't think anyone would call you a 'geeky girl' right now." She was still leaning forward. They were sitting with their faces close to one another. Her heart fluttered and she blushed. She took her hand off his knee and leaned back in her chair.

"I graduated high school at the top of my class when I was fifteen years old. I was still too young to go to an out of town college so my mom started bringing me to work everyday. She started to really notice my computer skills. I had finally become more useful to her. She taught me how to hack into encrypted computer sites and source out information that might be of interest to the company. I was a quick study and I was soon able to develop my own more efficient methods. We started small but we were soon hacking into large competitors with relative ease. She would use the information we obtained to make investments or develop new products. I was still only a little more than a child. I knew what we were doing was wrong but my mother was finally showing pride in my abilities. It's easy to mistake pride for love when you want to. She poured all of the money we made back into Gordon Tech."

"For the next few couple of years it was more of the same. Aside from showing great interest my technical skills, my mother's overall indifference towards me continued. I began to emulate her in hopes of procuring more of her affection. I grew my hair longer and dressed like her. People who saw us together reacted so positively to us looking alike. Everywhere I went people told me how much like my mother I was. I had started to believe it."

"My life changed dramatically when I went to Massachusetts. My mother believed that it was in Gordon Tech's best interest that I obtain a degree from MIT. So I registered in classes and immersed myself in the Infinite Corridor. For the first time in my life I was living a life outside my mother's control. It was both wonderful and terrifying at the same time."

"When I was finished college she expected me to come back. I was no longer the same person I was before I left. I couldn't do it anymore Oliver, it was not the life I wanted for myself. I told her that I wouldn't work for her again. For the first time ever I stood up to her. The result was ugly. The short version is that she insisted Gordon Tech needed me, that she needed me. She swore she would never forgive me if I left my responsibilities. Not once did she bring emotion into it."

"I left her pretty much with the clothes on my back. She cut me off financially. I think she would have erased my identity online if she could have. I was able to protect myself and my college transcripts. My reputation was another matter. She made it nearly impossible for me to find work. My name was blacklisted from every major technical firm along the West Coast. I think she figured that if she ruined me, I would have no choice but to come back. Walter literally saved me when he offered me a job at Queen Consolidated. Starling City was far enough away from Gordon Tech that the rumors she was spreading hadn't had a chance to influence him."

"The rest you know. Fast forward through 4 years of open animosity to her showing up in our office. It's my own fault. I've always had some kind of naive hope that her and I could foster some kind of relationship. I've never tried to hide where I was or where I worked. I never anticipated this kind of situation."

"So what do we do Felicity?"

"I go back with her. I don't have a choice." Felicity stood up and the foundry swayed in front of her. She closed her eyes to try to regain her balance. Oliver must have noticed since there were suddenly two large hands on either of her arms stabilizing her. "Whoa... how much of that wine have I had to drink?"

"Enough." He said. His thumbs traced lightly back and forth on her arms as he held her. She was no longer thinking clearly. She didn't know if it was from the wine or from something else.

She rested a moment in his arms. "Are you okay to drive? I think you better take me home."

He nodded but made no move to let her go. "I won't let you go back with her alone Felicity."

"She won't hurt me Oliver."

"There are different degrees of hurt."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, reviews very welcome :)

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Suggestions are always welcome :)


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